The Basketball Africa League (BAL) returns for its landmark fifth season, bringing together 156 players from a record 28 countries across five continents.

The competition, which begins on Saturday, will tip off at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco, with an expanded roster of talent battling for the continental title.

The first match of the season will see Mali’s Stade Malien, last year’s third-place finishers, take on Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers, who secured the same ranking in 2024.

The clash is set for 4:00 p.m. GMT. Later that evening at 7:00 p.m. GMT, Moroccan side Fath Union Sport (FUS) will go head-to-head with Egyptian debutants Al Ittihad.

The full season schedule is available at BAL.NBA.com/schedule.

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With a growing global audience, this season’s games will be broadcast in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages through partnerships with various networks, including the African Union of Broadcasting, American Forces Network, Canal+, ESPN, FIBA’s Courtside 1891, NBA TV, Ninety Media Services, SNRT, Tencent Sports, and TV5 Monde. Fans can also follow the action via livestream on the NBA App, NBA.com, BAL.NBA.com, and the BAL’s YouTube channel.

Throughout the season, the league will pay tribute to the late NBA icon Dikembe Mutombo, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer.

In his honour, all player jerseys will feature a “DM55” patch, and moments of silence will be observed before conference group phase matches.

Mutombo, who became the NBA’s first global ambassador after retiring in 2009, left a lasting legacy on the sport.

Fans eager to witness the action in Rabat can purchase single-game tickets online at Guichet.com and BAL.NBA.com.

Ticket holders will also receive free entry to the BAL Fan Zone at the arena.

The competition format remains intense, with each of the three conferences—Kalahari, Sahara, and Nile—engaging in a 12-game group phase.

Each team will face its conference rivals twice. The Kalahari Conference group phase will take place in Rabat from Saturday to April 13, 2025, followed by the Sahara Conference from April 26, 2025, to May 4, 2025at Dakar Arena in Senegal.

The Nile Conference will then stage its matches from May 17, 2025, to May 25, 2025, at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

Eight teams from the three conferences will advance to the final phase in Pretoria, South Africa. They will compete in four seeding games before entering an eight-game, single-elimination playoff and finals scheduled from June 6, 2025, to June 14, 2025.